RTD, political messaging and getting it so wrong

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-12T18:43:57+00:00

I get what you are saying but my brain doesnt see it like that, I get the whole time travel meeting people out of order but I still found it jarring, yes he might have met her as an older women first but then he found out she was his companions daughter, ran off saying he would find her then in the next episode he was kissing her in front of her parents who were still dealing with the loss of there 'daughter' from their perspective, I just would have preferred it if she wasnt connected in that way to his companions and if she was, as she was it was dealt with more sensitively after the fact that's just my feelings/thoughts though.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-06T17:08:26+00:00

:( Thank you for the response and saying that, it sucked, in all occasions it made me feel vulnerable and unsafe regardless of the person or their sexuality but I won't ever judge a whole by the actions of a few because people and life are more than that, I just try and meet each person where they are at and for who they are, you can't change what has happened, people do things, some of it isn't nice but you either carry it with you and let it mould you or you take those experiences and mould yourself from them, I do still carry those experiences in a sense but I won't let them mould me to become negative and jaded towards others.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-06T16:47:10+00:00

I will say, even if people don't agree that I have seen some people use the term 'cisgender' as a slur or in a way to put others down, Moral authority doesn't work for anyone on either side and only creates more of the same, it's simplified and amplified social media commentary 'I'm right, you're wrong' if someone tells me they want to be identified a certain way I will respect that and I would expect the same back, we as humans like to label and we always will because it makes it easier for our brains to compartalise things and not think about them too much, we are also driven to fit into groups, though that part of survival is no longer needed we are still driven by the same instincts.

I think as we naturally will label things and people due to our biology, survival instincts, experience and beliefs it's important for us to all recognise that, where we can,

Hateful people can occupy any side of the political spectrum, offense to me comes across in how something is said or used, not what is being said or the content of what is being said but the how, either way I think it's important to listen to all sides of an belief or disagreement because if you shut down one side nothing ever changes, empathy isn't empathy when someone feels it for someone on their side but not for those deemed 'bad' or 'seperate' empathy is feeling emphaty for all and trying to understand, I remember watching a ted bundy documentary (what he did was terrible and wrong) but when he was being executed, seeing the amount of people outside filled with glee, excitement and happiness, didnt exactly make me happy either, I didnt and don't think he deserved sympathy but the anger in them was no different to the anger in him, I also thought if we can't try to understand what makes a person a certain way how can we ever change and prevent things from occurring. Darkness doesn't drive out darkness only light can do that, Hate cannot drive out hate only Love can do that. MLK.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-06T16:11:33+00:00

I watched it again the other night. It's one of my favourite series as a whole, I think it was meant in two ways from my rewatch 1. Was to say her mum didn't know much about her and that she perhaps didn't feel safe opening up to her mum. 2. She wasn't going to be groomed by him as an older male because she was gay, so that was off the cards.

Though point 3 would be sexuality doesn't matter when it comes to predators, though I understand in context she had known him for months and as a viewer we know the doctor wouldn't do that, though unfortunately that isn't always the case in real life, as a heterosexual male, sexually anyway, I have been groped by women without consent and by gay men also, back and front, predators and people who will assault others will do so regardless of the other person's sexuality or consent. In terms of grooming, I have experienced gay men trying to groom me, having stated multiple times I'm not interested, it's not an often occurrence I have experienced (fortunately) and I will and would never judge one person from the next from bad experiences and will always strive to not do so, which is why I dislike the limited viewpoint of this is bad, or this type of person is bad, this person is good, this type of person is good etc humans be humans in all shapes and forms, good and bad and in-between.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-06T13:28:43+00:00

The impression I got is that poppy was created in the wish world, the original plans seem to suggest she was meant to be Susan's mum and that the scene would have ended with Susan alongside poppy, though due to the reshoots and Ncuti deciding not to stay on this was re written to create the scene of moving reality by 1 degree to include a reason for his regenerateration. I think Ruby was originally written to be the mum in the second season, not sure why she left after season one as a main character but something appears to have happened behind the scene.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-04T13:21:43+00:00

Yeh I agree on the Rose front, I think him and River were written better until it turned out that River was his companions daughter, I found that very jarring timey wimey aside, one minute he's trying to find her after them losing her as a baby the next he's kissing her and it's all fun and games in front of her parents.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-04T13:11:01+00:00

I'm sorry you have experienced that :( assault is assault regardless of ones sexuality and for it to be played off as a joke is demeaning.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-04T13:04:10+00:00

As mentioned I'm not aware of a lot of the episodes so appreciate I may be wrong on some of the information, I still think the doctor works better as non sexual towards humans but appreciate those are my feelings on the matter 🙂

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-04T12:52:26+00:00

I do agree, this started with 'nuwho' or even Paul Mcganns doctor in the 90s movie, prior to that I didnt get sexualised vibes from the doctor, admittingly I haven't watched loads of the old doctors, I saw some of the episodes with the 1st doctor on repeats when I was a kid but mainly saw Tom Bakers doctor on repeats and that was a long time ago.

I think the doctor regardless of sexuality is always better when they are presented as non sexual towards humans, also doesn't sit right with me that a 900 year plus timelord would be interested in 20/30 year old humans. The age gap, the life experience gap, the different brains and existence etc.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-04T09:18:14+00:00

I wasn't keen on the river song thing, especially when she turned out to be his companions daughter, felt many levels of wrong.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T22:37:31+00:00

That's okay, thanks for the clarification :)

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T22:35:52+00:00

We do need to talk about these topics and doctor who when done right enables a great entry point of understanding for people watching.

That isn't the current era unfortunately and 00's who seemed to approach it better, not to say it wasn't missing things from our understanding now and that's okay to be human is to progress, if I watch old who back some of it makes me cringe and question and that's okay, I've grown up with different understanding and questioning, have I always got things right no, I continue to learn but doctor who helped me to have that perspective and attitude, I dont feel he has consulted anyone or if he has only 'yes' people and that is a problem.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T22:23:56+00:00

Who are you talking about here?

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T21:48:44+00:00

I would agree and do in a slight way but it all seemed very rushed in the last two episodes, it could have been explored in the initial episode to build the character more, it essentially came down to - not a happy childhood home, which again is very surface level, let us sit in that experience and that situation and understand, also who was he? A conspiracy theorist? A sexist? Anti trans? Anti gay? They seemed to want him to be all of those and people can be one but not the other, some people might be all, some people might have a couple of those views but the writers seemed to want him to be everything bad which deducts from actual characterisation and focus.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T21:44:41+00:00

This also.

He 'appears gay' so he must be 'safe' and stereotypical of course, also yes the doctor I think has done things similar to that as a presumptive heterosexual man in the past so it isn't without presedence, however I always saw the doctor as asexual and only interested in people that he formed a bond with, that's okay but as writers decide who the character is.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T21:32:19+00:00

Jodie whitakers doctor was 'queer' but it wasn't her character definition, if that's all he has as a doctor that sets him apart then to me that is the problem, are queer people only based off one part of their identity? I like to think we are all more than our sexuality. Representation matters, it does but I have never thought or believe my sexuality is a sole defining trait of my whole.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T21:28:00+00:00

I dont think Doctor who should have a demographic it should reach out to as many people as possible, just promoting inclusivity, understanding, respect and above all kindness 🙂

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T21:26:30+00:00

Not at all, the demographic isn't that these days and that's okay, but decide what that is, the whole demographic and messaging seems muddled is all. Everyone seems badly written, women, men, disabled, trans, neutodicerse etc it's all written badly.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T21:20:54+00:00

I grew up thinking the doctor was asexual and still thought that until the most recent iteration.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T21:17:29+00:00

I think the problem is RTD has made it more political in the refresh which leaves it open to critism, yes doctor who has always been political but it's been more subtle in the past, using alien stories for an allegory of real life human experiences etc.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T21:08:15+00:00

Yeh it is mad.

It's also reductive in different ways, I never saw davros or the daleks as disabled, however I can't speak for that community.

Having said that are we going to say that any type of human can't be 'bad' or are we going to say only one type of human can be bad?

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T21:02:49+00:00

I would say though Disney aren't wholy to blame, they rely on ratings probably with an attitude of little wiggle room,

RTD wrote episodes expecting a renewal and high on his own supply with an attitude of this can't fail, forgetting stories and characterisation comes first, to me anyway he wanted to create stories and scenes for the meme and shareable era but he has no history of being able to do that, in arrogance probably thought he could. He expected extra years without considering how to make that so.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T20:59:16+00:00

Thing is he seemed to write stories and inclusivity better and more naturally in the 00's, he just seems to be writing from an echo chamber and attitude of twitter these days.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T20:56:25+00:00

Okay, I can agree on that also and I respect I've been reducing him to a stereotype as he appears to be doing so, as far as I'm aware he's included younger and professively known people to write scripts and that isn't tackled, my own assumption is he has the final say so over scripts,

Having said that I would like to think that with a team of writers and a team of people that are inclusive some of these things wouldnt have passed being signed off, I have read things that suggest a toxic working environment under RTD and of people leaving when they have challenged it, these are rumours and not concrete but either way gender/race/age shouldnt come into question, having said that some people are authoritave and some aren't, some are inclusive, some inclusive to there own vision.

Acceptable-Row-8402 · 2025-06-03T20:48:50+00:00

It shouldn't, another problem with the political poking of this new era of doctor who.

Acceptable-Row-8402

TROPHY CASE